How to find old pensions from previous jobs

The short answer: List every employer you've had, find the name of each pension provider, then use the government's free Pension Tracing Service to get their contact details. Contact each provider with your National Insurance number, old addresses and dates you worked there. They'll check their records and tell you what you have.

How do I find old pensions from previous jobs?

You find them by working backwards from your old jobs. MoneyHelper sets out four steps to find old or lost pensions, and they work for almost everyone:

1. List every place you've worked. Include short jobs and any personal pension you set up yourself.

2. Find the pension provider's name. Check old payslips, letters and annual statements, or ask the old employer or old colleagues.

3. Get the provider's contact details. The government's Pension Tracing Service gives you these for free.

4. Contact the provider and ask them to search for a pension in your name.

It's worth doing. If a provider has lost touch with you, MoneyHelper points out that they won't know how to pay you when you retire. The money doesn't vanish. Your workplace pension still belongs to you after you leave, and it stays invested until the scheme's pension age.

Capital at risk. The value of your pension can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay in.

Only cross a job off your list if you're sure you never had a pension there, or that you already got your money back. MoneyHelper says you might have been refunded if you left:

• before April 1975

• between April 1975 and April 1988, and you worked there less than five years or were under 26 when you left

• after April 1988, having worked there less than two years

If you're not sure, keep the job on the list. A short search costs you nothing.

What details do I need before I start?

Gather what you can before you call anyone, because providers need enough to match you to a record. MoneyHelper says a provider may ask for:

• your National Insurance number

• any previous names and addresses

• the dates you worked for the employer

• roughly when you think the pension was set up

If you've lost your National Insurance number, the government explains how to find your National Insurance number.

A simple table helps you keep track as you go:

Can I find an old pension with just my National Insurance number?

Not on its own. There's no single public search where you type in your National Insurance number and see every pension. The Pension Tracing Service needs the name of an employer or a pension provider, and it won't tell you whether you have a pension or what it's worth. It only gives you contact details.

Your National Insurance number matters at the next step. Once you know who to contact, the provider uses it, along with your name and old addresses, to find your record.

That should change once pensions dashboards open. All schemes and providers in scope must be connected to the pensions dashboards system by 31 October 2026. There's no public launch date yet. AJ Bell said in July 2026 that a public launch probably won't come until mid-2027 at the earliest, and that people will first use a dashboard run by MoneyHelper.

How do I find a pension if the company no longer exists?

You can still find it. A company closing doesn't mean your pension closed with it. For the most common type, defined contribution, the government says you won't lose your pension pot if your employer goes bust, because a pension provider usually runs it, not your employer. Defined benefit (final salary) schemes are usually protected by the Pension Protection Fund.

Try these:

• If your old employer went bust, MoneyHelper suggests checking the Pension Protection Fund's list of schemes. If the scheme is on it, the PPF now runs it.

• Providers merge and rename. The Association of British Insurers' lost pension page shows who to contact when a provider has changed its name, been taken over or merged.

• Try the Pension Tracing Service with the old employer's name. It can still hold contact details for the scheme even if the business has gone.

Is the Pension Tracing Service free, and is there an app?

Yes, the Pension Tracing Service is free. The government's pensions blog calls it a free online service. You can use it online, or by phone or post:

• Phone: 0800 731 0175, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm

• From outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 7777

• Post: The Pension Service, Post Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1AF

To be sure you're on the real service, go to the government's own website and search for "find pension contact details" rather than clicking a search ad. There's no need to pay anyone for the same contact details.

As for apps, MoneyHelper mentions Gretel, a free service to trace lost pensions, accounts and investments. The government-backed option will be the MoneyHelper pensions dashboard, once it opens to the public.

If anyone calls you out of the blue about your pension, the FCA says the safest thing to do is hang up. Pension cold calls are illegal and probably a scam.

What happens to my old workplace pension if I go self-employed?

It stays where it is, still yours, still invested. The government says that if you stop paying in, the money remains invested and you'll get a pension when you reach the scheme's pension age.

When you go freelance, you have a few options for paying in from now on:

• ask the old scheme if you can carry on paying into it

• use NEST, a workplace scheme that working self-employed people and sole company directors can join

• set up a personal or stakeholder pension

The old pot is easy to lose track of once there's no payslip reminding you it exists. So update your address with the old provider as soon as you move. You can see how different payment patterns could add up with our flexible pension calculator, and our guide to the different types of pension explains how workplace, personal and State Pensions differ.

Should I combine the pensions I find?

Maybe, but check before you move anything. The government lists having pensions from more than one employer as a common reason to transfer, and one pot is easier to keep an eye on. Our beginner's guide to pension consolidation walks through the pros and cons.

The government also warns that when you transfer you may:

• have to pay a fee to make the transfer

• lose any right to take your pension at a certain age

• lose any right to take a tax-free lump sum of more than 25% of your pot

Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.

Defined benefit pensions need extra care, because you could be giving up a guaranteed income. Ask each provider what you'd lose before you decide. If you're thinking of moving pots into a SIPP, our guide to transferring a pension to a SIPP covers the steps. MoneyHelper offers free, impartial guidance on transfers.

Example: tracing three old jobs

These figures are made up to show how it works.

Sam is 38 and went freelance last year. Before that, Sam worked at a shop (2008 to 2009), a call centre (2010 to 2014) and an agency (2015 to 2024).

1. Shop: Sam worked there just over a year, after April 1988, so contributions may have been refunded. Sam keeps it on the list anyway.

2. Call centre: Sam has no paperwork, but remembers the company name. The Pension Tracing Service gives the scheme's contact details. Sam calls with a National Insurance number and old address, and the provider finds a small pot.

3. Agency: Sam has an old statement with the provider's name. The provider confirms the pot and updates Sam's address.

Sam now knows about two pots, and has one job left to rule out. Before combining anything, it's worth Sam checking each pot's fees and any guarantees.

Still got questions?

How much money is in lost pensions in the UK? The Pensions Policy Institute estimated in October 2024 that there are 3.3 million lost pots worth £31.1 billion. The average lost pot was £9,470, rising to £13,620 for people at or near retirement.

When can I use a pensions dashboard? Not yet. Schemes must connect by 31 October 2026, and the public launch date hasn't been set. The MoneyHelper dashboard is expected to come first.

Can I get a refund from a short-lived job's pension? Sometimes. If you were in a defined benefit scheme for less than 2 years, the government says you might get a refund of what you paid or a transfer. Ask the scheme.

What if I think I've been targeted by a pension scam? The government says to contact Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Can I trace someone else's pension? Yes, with their permission. The Pension Tracing Service can find contact details for someone else's scheme if they've agreed.